Scott Cobb Photography : Local Tourist

February has much like January been wet and windy, even by British standards it's been a tad damp! However damp or no i was still out and about as often as i could and made a start on my new project "a local tourist" as i visit local towns and attractions.

As such i started with the Pic Tor memorial in Matlock. I wonder how many times i've been to Matlock now? countless trips and pretty much zero images but that should change during the course of the year. Pic Tor has been on my visit list for some time and when there was a rare sunny day, i walked into town and finally saw the memorial and surprising view.

A lovely memorial, i also checked out the large grave yard by St. Giles Church and will return to that another day.

Next up was the Snowdrop walk at Hopton hall. Incredible displays and the Rose Garden (in summer) will be a riot of color and a good place for my macro work :D The walk was a delight and the small cafe was cosy with good food and pleasant staff. I was amazed by how well maintained the garden and paths were and would say they are a good place for kids too as they had a play area. The walk is circular and relatively short but in truth you could waste a morning there taking shots and come summer bring a picnic and enjoy the flowers!

My final outing was a castle! Bolsover castle to be precise and what a place that turned out to be. Like many castles and houses it was pretty expensive to enter but unlike many others of it's kind there was almost full access to the rooms - no ropes!! The castle is really 2 in one with a far older ruin being one attraction and the "little castle" being the slightly newer build that was designed by the playboy of his day William Cavendish. He spared no expense and even now the place is dripping with the most expensive of materials. I won't bore you with a history (i recommend the guide book for that if you visit) but will say that i was very impressed by the ruins and little castle rooms. The whole place was clearly built and designed to be a show off house! There are several events run throughout the year here and i hope to make it to at least one of them this year, anyway enough talk!